Amanda Slavin, on the eve of her 2015 commencement address to Brenau graduates, meets on campus with former GE CEO Jack Welch, left, and Brenau President Ed Schrader. Slavin recently was appointed to the Brenau Board of Trustees.

The Brenau University Board of Trustees has appointed Amanda Slavin, CEO and founder of Las Vegas-based CatalystCreativ, as its newest member.

Slavin’s three-year term began immediately upon the board’s unanimous vote earlier this year. She will attend her first of the biannual board meetings in November. However, Brenau President Ed Schrader said, she has already been “fully engaged” in an advisory capacity, in learning the workings of the university and in participating in university programs and events.

Unlike many members of the board who are alumni or related through sometimes multi-generational family and community connections, Slavin has no long-standing ties to the university. Consequently, as one of the youngest members of the board, she brings the “fresh eyes” of a broader perspective that will be an enormous asset, said Board of Trustees Chairman Pete Miller.

Slavin gained national prominence in 2014 when Forbes magazine named her to its “30 under 30” list of top marketing and communications professionals in the world who had not reached their 30th birthdays.

“As I learned more about Brenau, I was so unbelievably impressed with the school’s integrity and values,” she said.

Slavin delivered commencement addresses to Brenau graduates in 2015 and last spring was keynote speaker for the Women’s Leadership Forum on the Gainesville campus.